The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1887-01-13

The financial condition OF the ,otnVe sta.
attention. In . special message sent you last
April. 1t was pointed out that to pay the uncx-
pended balances Of the unusually large appro-
priations of your immediate predecessors and to
reimburse the drafts made by the last admins
tration upon the revenues OF this year to pay
the expenses Of last year, amounting in the ag-
gregate TO the enormous sum Of s65o,0OO it had
been made necessary to borrow the entire
amount Of $75O,O00 allowed by the constitution to
meet casual deficiencies.
In view Of the fact that the expenses Of our
State Government must necessarily continue to
increase, and the further fact that our tax dupi-
cate was not correspondingly increasing, 1t was
the liquor traffic, and give to the General Rev.
enue Fund Of the State twenty-five per cent OF
the income arising therefrom.
You enacted the law taxing the liquor traffic
but deemed 1t your duty to give the full benefits
thereof to the relief OF local taxation, and be-
cause of the absence from'the State Of certain Of
italists Of the bonds of the State, issued under
such circumstances, you authorized the borrow
ing Of but $780, 600, that being in your judgment
demands until our certificates OF indebtedness
of discredt.
sary to anticipate the revenues OF next year to
provide funds to meet the obligations OF this,
though to much smaller extent than was done
last year. The State Auditor report will advise
you that the total receipts from oil sources for
the General Revenue Fund for the next year will
amount to about &s,BOO,O0O. The probabilities
u
We will have anticipated this to the amount Of
about $3OO,OOO, and that at that time there will
remain to be paid unexpended balances OF the
appropriations Of this year about S20O,WO
In other words, the net revenues available for
next year will not exceed &.,8O0,O0O. TO the ex-
tent your appropriations exceed this sum 1t will
the revenues Of the following year, less unex-
pended balances Should your appropriations
amount to about %, ,0OO, ,OOO the sum appropriated
for this year, and the unexpended balances be
100000. the amount they are estimated to be at
the end Of this year, the amount you would have
to anticipate would be 100000
less than you did last year. We cannot AFFORD
to be too economical in making provision for the
support Of the public institutions Of the State.
They must be calOl for with sufficient liberaity
to enable them to efficiently serve their high pur-
pose. They have not heretofore had all the help
they should have been given. But this burden
year by the appropriations necessary for the
construction Of the Intermediate Penitentiary,
the Soldiers and Sailors Home at Sandusky,
and the furnishing and maintenance Of the To
ledo Insane Asylum.
The only considerable item Of expense that
can be saved is that for the transportation OF
II would be more just to require each county
to pay its own expense for this purpose. Each
county would then pay exactly its own share,
in scrutinizing accounts. But this alone would
not make enough difference in results to meet
the case.
increase the revenues the deficiency will be
| larger ut the end Of the year than should be an
| ticipated from the taxes of next year. In fact,
| to use q common but expressive expression, we
| should 'catch up" and thus avoid altogether
the gripping system of robbing the future to
| pay for the present.
Without increasing our sources of revenue (oi
which something will be said hereafter) there
are only three ways thought OF in which this
| may be done. One Is to increase the rate OF
taxation; another is to borrow, and the third is
to give the State portion OF the liquor traiftc
tax.
The first method should not be adopted ex-
cept as q last necessity; the second could only
partially give relief since no more than $!5O,OOo
could be borrowed on such account (the consti'
tutional provision for casual deficiency being
s75OOOo, and 100000 having been already bor-
rowed.e
by apportioning the liquor traffic tax. II is only
| equitable that the State, which provides the
law, should have part of the help ari sing there
from, ut least temporarily, until the situation is
relieved especially In view OF the fact that the
necessities of the State are almost wholly coca
stoned by the obligations it has assumed in the
erection and maintenance OF charitable and
| penal institutions
1t is necessary to give attention to other mat
| ters pertaining TO the subject.
cate pointed out In the special message to which
reference has been made has been arrested
| and We have the gratifying fact presented Of al
increase for this year over last year OF more thar
eighteen lIs millions Of dollars The difh0ui
fair listing and assessment OF propert!
are more apparent than over. 1t wa
| pointed out In the special message that ther,
| was total lack OF uniformity In the valuation
S X 1nS nSSsu ss ps ui q ne ss
brought suits In the United States courts 70 on
| iein the collection of tAxea ON the&y ahAxoo 3